Christian Social People's Party (Egelion)
The Christian Social People's Party is a political party in Egelion. History The CSPP is the descendant of the Social Liberal Alliance founded in 2790 by a group of university academics headed by Dr. Mary Tirone, Professor of Political Science at the University of Libertaria in Dul Kinea. Tirone and the rest of the academic community had become increasingly disappointed with the political scene in Egelion which at that time was dominated by Communists, liberal-rightists, nationalists, and the royalists, and they wished to introduce a political party into Egelion that was based on mainstream academic theory. In the SLA's first election it won only 5% of the vote nationwide but 25% of the vote in Dul Kinea, coming second, where Tirone was well known, being based there. Due to Egelion's then electoral system giving equal representation to the provinces this gave the SLA an inflated number of seats. The SLA reached 9% of the vote in the 2796 election. It allied with the right-liberal Polaris Party in a government that had a majority of 1. The party leadership decided however that the SLA project had come to its natural end, that the party was essentially an elitist project and that to gain power it needed to transition into becoming a mass party. This led to a democratisation of the party's institutions, leading to a more populist edge and a changing of the party's name to 'Egelion People's Party'. As Egelion parties collapsed around it the EPP grew further, and with the collapse of the Polaris Party it gained an absolute majority of seats while Mary Tirone was successfully elected to the Presidency. The ensuing Egelion government of 2811-2815 was one of the most reforming in Egelion's history, introducing a guaranteed minimum income, free nursery care for children, a radically reshaped tax system and budget and reform to the nation's military policies. The EPP lost its majority (indeed it came behind the far-right Capitalist Party) at the ensuing election, but was able to continue in government, and Tirone was successfully re-elected thanks to the support of the Social Democratic and Labor Party's ancestor party, the Unity Party, and reforms continued including wide-ranging constitutional reform. Tirone herself stepped down, retiring to a life of solitude. However with the collapse of both the Communists and the Capitalists the EPP became the majority party once again. The EPP won five elections in a row, governing for a full 20 years as the majority party. Nonetheless for most of that period the EPP governed in governments of national unity with the SDLP. However, in reality, laws were decided only by the EPP leadership, and the SDLP's increased annoyance with this led them to put up an eighteen article bill called the 'SDLP support bill' outlining their requirements for continued support of the government. The EPP, of course, voted against the SDLP's demands, and began governing alone. EPP hegemony could not continue forever however. With the arrival of the Egelion Democrats and the Egelion Leftist Front the EPP lost more than half its votes and therefore its majority, coming behind the ED. The EPP chose to go into opposition, despite the potential of a left-wing government, in order to reflect. It was decided that the party should become a party of the Christian Left, changing its name to the current name, Christian Social People's Party. At the next election the CSPP lost the Presidency (due to a SDLP/ELF alliance), but managed to form a left wing government with the SDLP and the ELF. In the 2853 election the CSPP once again became the largest party, and Reverend Ian Jones, CSPP leader who was instrumental in the move to becoming the CSPP, became President. Soon after, however, the war with the UKSR broke out. To the surprise of President Jones he was thrust into the position of a war leader. His immediate reaction was to form a national unity government including all the other parties then in Egelion. He also apportioned an inner war-cabinet composing prominent cabinet members, one from each party. Headed by himself and composing an ED PM, a SDLP Foreign Minister, a PCP finance minister and a ELF defense minister. The cabinet's goal was the defense of Egelion and against his instincts Jones was forced to clamp down on civil liberties, raise the defense budget to astronomical levels and change much military law. As an emergency measure elections were postponed to once every year seven years (from three). During the war Egelion also faced a new threat from the heavily militaristic Freedom Party. It was decided by the other Egelion parties that the FP was too radical and unstable to be invited into the cabinet. When the war ended the elderly Jones stepped down, desiring new leadership for Egelion. In his place a former Finance Minister, Aaron James came to the fore. In the post-war environment the ED, ELF and PCP all imploded, leaving just the CSPP, SDLP and FP left. Continuing to consider the FP too radical the CSPP and SDLP governed in grand coalitions with James as President. After the 2883 election the CSPP decided that its Christian Social mission had come to an end and that the party had been ruined by its own success. It had run out of fresh ideas. Rather than run out of steam completely the CSPP decided to dissolve itself. In 2911 a series of activists who felt that the CSPP legacy had been squandered reformed the party. However the reformed party found its position extremely difficult. With the reformed PAR being ideologically similar but slightly more radical maintaining a unique voice was difficult. In its initial election the reformed CSPP came third of five parties, an extremely disappointing result. Attempts to make the party more popular failed with the CSPP suffering even more, coming fourth, and last in the following election. The failure of the reformed CSPP brought to the fore the party's Christian Democrat and Social Liberal wings to the exclusion of its more traditionally leftist wings. Factions The Left Cheek The traditionally dominant faction of the party, originally headed by Egelion President Reverend Ian Jones who is a hero of the party and of this faction in particular. Christian Left and based on a progressive reading of the bible. Focuses on subsidiarity, environmentalism (stewardship of the Earth), democracy and the role of religion in public life. Within the reformed CSPP the Left Cheek is a far weaker faction as its former electoral strategies have failed it. Progressive People A faction of secular Social Democrats who refuse to join the SDLP because they see the party as authoritarian, idealistic and/or unacceptably socialist. Tends to focus on social justice issues. Not very influential. Liberal People Social Liberals. Combine support for a strong welfare state with a liberal economy. Highly supportive of free markets. Small, but influential in economic policy, idealises former President Aaron James. Since the reformation of the CSPP has been locked in a battle for control with the Real Christians. Real Christians A faction of Christian Democrats who wish to move the party towards the centre and centre-right. Tend to reject the PAR as they tend to promote a more liberal vision of Christian Democracy, but reject the leftism of the wider CSPP too. With recent electoral defeats the Real Christians have become stronger, with the party's current leader Boipelo Banda coming from the Real Christians faction. Category:Political parties in Egelion